Distribution of tritium and stable isotopes in precipitation in Syria

Abstract

The paper discusses aspects of the isotopic composition (tritium and stable isotopes) of precipitation, which was monitored from 2000 to 2003 at 12 stations in Syria. The seasonal variations in δ¹⁸O are smaller at the western stations than at the eastern ones due to low seasonal temperature variations. A good correlation between δ²H and δ¹⁸O was obtained for each station, and the slopes of the local meteoric water lines are significantly lower than the Global Meteoric Water Line. Values of d-excess decrease from 19‰ at the western stations to 13‰ at the eastern ones, indicating the influence of precipitation generated by air masses coming from the Mediterranean Sea. A reliable altitude effect represented by depletion of heavy stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ²H), of about??0.21‰ and??1.47‰ per 100 m elevation, respectively, was observed. Monthly tritium contents in precipitation, and seasonal variations, are less at the western stations than at the eastern ones. The weighted mean tritium values are between 3 and 9 TU, and increase with distance from the Syrian coast by 1 TU/100 km.

Citation Al Charideh, A. R. & Abou Zakhem, B. (2010) Distribution of tritium and stable isotopes in precipitation in Syria. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(5), 832–843.     

Kinetics of Methyldiethanolamine Mineralization by Using UV/H2O2 Process

The UV/H₂O₂ is one of the popular techniques in the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and has been applied in the wastewater treatment during recent two decades. UV exposure on the H₂O₂ generate highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (OH^?), which are used to degrade organic contaminants through oxidation processes in wastewater. This present study involves the estimation of hydroxyl radical rate constants of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) mineralization at different temperatures by using UV/H₂O₂ in aqueous solution. Laboratory experiments have been conducted and the profile of MDEA mineralization has been established. The hydroxyl radical rate constants and the activation energy of mineralization process have been calculated. The estimated hydroxyl rate constants and the activation energy are in good agreement with those reported in the literature.     

巴基斯坦西俾路支省Chagai地区Saindak斑岩铜金矿床高锶低钇中酸性岩地球化学

The Chagai arc is located in southwest of Pakistan and extends into Iran and Afghanistan (Fig.1A). The border between eastern Iran and western Pakistan roughly coincides with the transition from the collisional Zagros orogenic belt in the west to the Makran accretionary complex and Chagai magmatic arc in the east Siddiqui (2004). The Baluchistan (or Makran) magmatic arc, is an east-west trending, ~500 km long and up to 140 km wide belt of calc-alkaline plutonic, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks, which is part of the continental-scale Tethyan belt that spans eastern Europe and Asia. Activity along the arc began in the Late Cretaceous and continued through into the Quaternary.     

Analytical solution of polymer slug injection with viscous fingering

We present an analytical solution to estimate the minimum polymer slug size needed to ensure that viscous fingering of chase water does not cause its breakdown during secondary oil recovery. Polymer flooding is typically used to improve oil recovery from more viscous oil reservoirs. The polymer is injected as a slug followed by chase water to reduce costs; however, the water is less viscous than the oil. This can result in miscible viscous fingering of the water into the polymer, breaking down the slug and reducing recovery. The solution assumes that the average effect of fingering can be represented by the empirical Todd and Longstaff model. The analytical calculation of minimum slug size is compared against numerical solutions using the Todd and Longstaff model as well as high resolution first contact miscible simulation of the fingering. The ability to rapidly determine the minimum polymer slug size is potentially very useful during enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening studies.     

Updated Inventory of Glacial Lakes in Teesta Basin Using Remote Sensing Data for Use in GLOF Risk Assessment

Detailed inventory of glacial lakes in a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) prone area is vital for disaster mitigation. Availability of cheaper high resolution satellite data from Indian remote sensing satellites enables us to create up-to-date inventory for use in prioritisation of glacial lakes for GLOF risk assessment. Earlier inventories show presence of more glacial lakes in Brahmaputra basin in Indian Himalaya. Teesta River is one of the tributary of Brahmaputra and previous studies have shown that the inventory of glacial lakes in Teesta basin varies from 143 to 320. In the present study, the inventory carried out using satellite data of years 2000, 2007 and 2014 show presence of 301 (25.789 km²), 302 (26.081 km²) and 644 (29.706 km²) glacial lakes in Teesta basin respectively. The steep increase in number of lakes in the latest inventory is primarily due to the finer spatial resolution of satellite data used. Analysis of water spread area of glacial lakes at different altitudes shows that most of the lakes in the higher altitudes are small in size. It is observed that more than 66% of lakes are in the altitude beyond 4500 m and of size less than 50,000 sqm (5 ha). Out of 301 glacial lakes inventoried during 2000, water spread area of 6 lakes have decreased in 2014 and 31 lakes have shown increase in area. Out of these 31 lakes, 17 lakes are classified as end moraine dammed lakes and among them, 14 are located in Upper Teesta sub-basin and in higher altitudes (beyond 5000 m). The prioritisation of these lakes for GLOF risk needs to be carried out with detailed field investigation.     

Geotopes of mountain territories: Definitions, approaches to the study, protection

Geographical places of interest of mountain territories are discussed. A comprehensive definition of the notion of “geotope” is provided, which takes into consideration its uniqueness, individuality and accessibility for study and popularization. A relevant classification of geotopes and approaches in studying them have been developed. Attention is drawn to the possibilities of protecting mountain geotopes, and to the need fro a popularization of geotopes in the geographical knowledge system. A case in point is provided by the record cards and the catalogue of geotopes as well as by websites with information bases of data on geographical attractions of mountain territories.     

Impacts of future Indian greenhouse gas emission scenarios on projected climate change parameters deduced from MAGICC model

The MAGICC (Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse gas Induced Climate Change) model simulation has been carried out for the 2000–2100 period to investigate the impacts of future Indian greenhouse gas emission scenarios on the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide besides other parameters like radiative forcing and temperature. For this purpose, the default global GHG (Greenhouse Gases) inventory was modified by incorporation of Indian GHG emission inventories which have been developed using three different approaches namely (a) Business-As-Usual (BAU) approach, (b) Best Case Scenario (BCS) approach and (c) Economy approach (involving the country’s GDP). The model outputs obtained using these modified GHG inventories are compared with various default model scenarios such as A1B, A2, B1, B2 scenarios of AIM (Asia-Pacific Integrated Model) and P50 scenario (median of 35 scenarios given in MAGICC). The differences in the range of output values for the default case scenarios (i.e., using the GHG inventories built into the model) vis-à-vis modified approach which incorporated India-specific emission inventories for AIM and P50 are quite appreciable for most of the modeled parameters. A reduction of 7% and 9% in global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions has been observed respectively for the years 2050 and 2100. Global methane (CH₄) and global nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions indicate a reduction of 13% and 15% respectively for 2100. Correspondingly, global concentrations of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O are estimated to reduce by about 4%, 4% and 1% respectively. Radiative forcing of CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O indicate reductions of 6%, 14% and 4% respectively for the year 2100. Global annual mean temperature change (incorporating aerosol effects) gets reduced by 4% in 2100. Global annual mean temperature change reduces by 5% in 2100 when aerosol effects have been excluded. In addition to the above, the Indian contributions in global CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O emissions have also been assessed by India Excluded (IE) scenario. Indian contribution in global CO₂ emissions was observed in the range of 10%–26%, 6%–36% and 10%–38% respectively for BCS, Economy and BAU approaches, for the years 2020, 2050 and 2100 for P50, A1B-AIM, A2-AIM, B1-AIM & B2-AIM scenarios. CH₄ and N₂O emissions indicate about 4%–10% and 2%–3% contributions respectively in the global CH₄ and N₂O emissions for the years 2020, 2050 and 2100. These Indian GHG emissions have significant influence on global GHG concentrations and consequently on climate parameters like RF and ∆T. The study reflects not only the importance of Indian emissions in the global context but also underlines the need of incorporation of country specific GHG emissions in modeling to reduce uncertainties in simulation of climate change parameters.